A Shorten Labor Government will fast track $60 million worth of road works planned for the New South Wales Central Coast to ease traffic congestion and improve road safety in this fast-growing region.

Labor’s Central Coast Roads Rescue Package will allow the Central Coast Council to complete the road improvements planned for the next decade in only four years.

Accelerating these road upgrades and repairs will create jobs and economic activity, while reducing delays for motorists and making a practical improvement to the lives of the 350,000 residents of this beautiful part of Australia.

Most importantly, the work will save lives by making the roads safer.

The geography of the Central Coast, with its abundance of beaches, lakes and national parks, presents a particular challenge when it comes to maintaining transport networks.

Seventy per cent of the region’s residents rely upon motor vehicles to move around, and nearly a quarter travel outside the region each weekday to work.

The NRMA has calculated that these challenges, and years of under-investment, have created a backlog of road work valued at $84 million – the largest backlog of any region in New South Wales.

Federal Labor’s Roads Rescue Package will help the Central Coast Council clear the backlog and ease traffic congestion, boosting productivity and liveability for residents.

After nearly six years of cuts and chaos from the Liberals and Nationals, Australia needs a Shorten Labor Government prepared to work with other levels of government to provide practical solutions to the infrastructure challenges facing the nation.

The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has cut investment in roads and public transport and allowed traffic congestion to worsen under its watch.

In its first budget, the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government cut support for local government around the country, including freezing Financial Assistance Grants to the Central Coast for three years.

By contrast, Labor has a comprehensive plan to ease congestion in our big cities, as well as in growing regions such as the New South Wales Central Coast.

Labor’s Central Coast Roads Rescue Package is in addition to the extra Roads to Recovery funding that is already built into the federal budget.